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Thursday, October 27, 2011

Playing With Warm & Cool

I decided to spend the day in the studio experimenting with limited palettes and warm vs. cool. I took a composition that I've been working with of a diner scene. I completed the "full color" version a week or so ago. I like it, don't love it. I'm not totally happy with the mark making and application of the pastel. I think it's a bit tight. The scene is sort of complex for me and I think I just got too involved in detail. so I wanted to try something different, looser and more interesting.
All three of these have a watercolor under-painting, sketches have a more mono-chromatic under-painting.

Original

cool version

warmer version

I like elements of both the sketches, so I'll pursue them a bit more. I think both are more dynamic and gestural than the original, especially the cool one. I really like the drips are working to "say" the reflections. What was really terrific was that the original took me the better part of two days to complete and the cool sketch about 20 minutes!! Tells you that once you have something a bit figured out you can really play and expand in that space.

It's great to have the luxury of a bit of time to dig into things deeper than just doing a "finish" and being satisfied with it. I'm planning on taking a few more of the compositions I've done recently and "re-doing" them.

2 comments:

I like the fact that you experimented. It's such a great way to learn and improve. I love the original. It's full of light and the orange tones are so engaging. Your cool version is pretty interesting as well. For the warm one, I think a warmer yellow and warmer rose would carry the feeling better. I find the colors are closer to half cool/half warm rather than all warm. Looks like a fun experiment!

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About Marla

I've always been an artist and watched the world through curious eyes. I think painting is the most challenging endeavor I've ever engaged in and hope to grow old in front of a canvas. When you paint, you can't be judgmental, prejudice or self-righteous; you just have to "be" and stand there and paint.